Device for rolling-over the edges of flat-flanged dished can bottoms or lids



QP Y W. MOSER DEVICE FOR ROLLING-OVER THE EDGES OF FLAT-FLANGE!) DISHED CAN BOTTOMS OR LIDS Filed Feb. 28, 1950 2 $HEETS-SHEET 1 Fig.4 Fig.5

IN VEN TOR. W

BY MW Sept. 23, 1952 w. MOSER 2,611,412

DEVICE FOR 0 LING-OVER THE EDGES OF FLAT-FLANGED SHED CAN BOTTOMS OR LIDS Filed Feb. 28, 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 latented Sept. 23, 1952 UNITED STATES DEVIQE FOR ROLLING-OVERTHE EDGES or FLAT-.FLANGED msmsp CAN BQTTOMS OR LIDS Werner Moser, Lenzburg, Switzerland Application February 28, 1950, Seriallid-146,906 In, SwitzerlandDecember 29, 194

4 Claims.

The invention relates to the rolling-overof the edges of dished can bottoms or lids.

It is well known in the art to produce dished can bottoms or lids with turned-up flanges, as required for attaching such bottoms or lids to the can mantles, by stamping and pressing. However, the stamping and pressing tools required therefor are complicated and expensive and need repeated and likewise, expensive maintenance as compared with the tools required for the production of can bottoms or lids, having completely fiat flanges which will be referred totas flat-flanged dished can bottoms or lids."

On the other hand such flat-flanged dished can, bottoms Or lids can not be attached as such to the can mantles, but want rolling-over of their edges preparatory to attaching. Devices for such rolling-over have been suggested wherein the flat-flanged dished can bottoms or lids are fed one after the other between the bottom ends of at least. three rollers which are continuously driven in the, same direction and taper conically downwards and which have a screw-thread like rolling-over groove, these grooves grasping the-edge of the fiat-flanged dished can bottom or lid and lifting. it parallel to itself and, in so doing, effecting the rolling, over of its edge, owing to the conicity of the rollers and the consequent reduction of the distance between the rolling-over grooves.

The main objects of the present. invention are: to provide an improved rolling-over device for rolling-over the edges of fiat-flanged dished can bottoms or, lids; to provide an improved roller for such a rolling-over device; and toprovide an improved method of rolling-over the edges of flat-flangeddished can bottoms or lids which reliably produces rolled-over edges of uniformly high quality suitable-for attachment to can mantles. 1

Further objects will appear from the-descrip-v tion of a typical embodiment ofa rolling-over device accordingto the invention,

According to a main feature ofthe invention the improved rolling-over device comprises in combination: an inclined support plate, three identical rollers journalled relatively to and projecting from the said support plate parallel to one another in a triangular disposition, driving means arranged for rotating the said rollers in the same sense of rotation and at the same constant speed, each of the said rollers-comprising' a smooth cylindrical bottom portion, a hell.- callygrooved main portion or an outer radius larger than the radius of'said'cylindrl'cal' bottom 2 portion and a wedge shaped catcher having its bottom face flush with the bottomface of the said roller and its upper face leading up to the lower flank of a helical rolling-over groove in the said main portion of the roller the said helical groove starting with a. part extending over a. fraction of a turn having a root radius equal to the radius of the said bottom portion of, the roller, and leading through a transition zone of steeply increasing root, radius to the main part, of said helical groove, which gradually increases in root radius up to the last turns of said helical groove which are of constant root radius, and a chute for feeding flat-flanged dished can bottoms or lids one after the other to the bottom portions of thesaid rollers, the said rollers being angularly so disposed about their respective axes of rotation that their catchers simultaneously engage the flange of a can bottom or lid.

A method of rolling-over the edge of a flatflanged dished can bottom or lid by rolling contact with its circumference while moving the said can bottom or lid parallel to, andrat. the same time rotating it. about, itselfjcomprises ac:- cording to the invention the phases. ofv simultaneously engaging the said edge at three points, applyingsudden radial inward pressure causing indentations in the said edge at its three points of rolling contact, rolling-over the said edge. from the three indentations simultaneously by gradually increasing the radial inward pressure, and smoothing the rolled-over edge by continue ing rolling contact without further radial inward pressure.

With these general statementsof the objects and purposes of my invention I will now proceed to describe an embodiment thereof and the mannerin which my inventionis carried out, and it will be understood that while I have described What may be considered as a preferable embodiment of my invention, I do not limitv myself to the precise conditions or proportionsherein set forth, as they may be varied bythose skilled in the art in, accordance with the particular pur-. poses for which they are intended and the. con/- ditions under which they are utilised;

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section through an earlier type of rolling-over device;

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 isa cross section through therolling over groove of? an improved roller according'to the present invention, on a. greatly enlarged sc e; r e

" Fig; 4' is a diametrlcal'section through a flat lids or bottoms is formed in the course of the operation of the rolling-over device.

The three rollers 1 (Figs. 3, '7 and 8) are constructed accurately identical, and have each a helical rolling-over groove Ia machined in them, the root of which has a step Ib (Fig. 3). The lower, deeper, part Ic of the rolling-over groove Ia which has a part-toroid profile is designed for rolling-over the edges of the lids or bottoms. The depth of the rolling-over groove Ia diminishes from bottom to top except for the three which is fixedly arranged on a base I02, has a T-shaped opening I03 in which are displaceably mounted three roller-carriers each of which consists of a bottom part I04 and a top part I05. In each bottom part I04 there is provided a bearing I06 and in each top part I05 there is provided a bearing ID! for a shaft I08. Be-' tween the bearings I06 and I01, there is exchangeably arranged, on each of the three shafts I08, a conical roller I09 which tapers downwardly towards the plate IIII and which has a screw-thread like rolling-over groove IIO. For clamping the roller-carriers I04, I05 in the arms of the T-shaped opening I03, there are employed screws III, which pass through the bottom part I04 and the top part I05, and'clamping members H4. The shafts I06, together with their rollers I09, are continuously driven in the same direction (in any desired manner) by means of toothed wheels, III,'II8, H9 belts H6 and chains I20 from a driving shaft H5 or the shaft of a built-in electromotor not shown. .An inclined guiding groove I I2, which is provided with guide rails II3 for the-edge of theQfiat-fianged can bottom or lid, serves for catching the can bottoms and lids ejected from the stamping press and for introducing them between the rollers I09 of the device which is set up in a suitable position directly near the stamping press.

Referring now to the improved device shown in Fig. 6, a support plate 2 is attached in a sloping position on a casing. I This support plate 2 has a T-shaped opening, the three arms, of which eachform the guide for one of threeslides 4 which are shiftablebymeans of a threaded spindle 3 journalled in the "casing I. On each of these three slides 4 a roller supportbracket 5 is arranged. A shaft. 6 is journalled on'the one hand in the slide 4 and on the other hand in the said roller support bracket 5 on which shaft a roller I is keyed'which will be described later in detail. Each rollersupport bracket 5 has a clamping screw 8 by means of which the associated slide 4 can be clamped in its guide. The shafts 6 are driven in the same sense of rotation and at the same speed by an electric motor 9 via transmission means arranged in the casing I at the lower side of the support plate 2 and of the slides 4, such as the'gears H1, H8, H9, belt H6 and chains I20 described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2. A sloping chute I3 serves for catching the lids or bottoms dropping out of a stamping press (not shown) and for introducing the same between the rollers 1. One side wall of the chute I3 is adjustable by means of adjustment screws I5 in such a manner that the width of the chute I3 can be adapted to the diameter of the lids or bottoms.- Above the chute I3 a guide baille I6 is arranged which prevents the lids or bottoms from jumping out of orfrom shifting the ones on top of the others within said chute. On each roller support bracket 5 a guide rod I! is arranged between which rods a pile of finished rolled-over uppermost turns which have constant depth. The rollers I have, however, a constant outer diameter.

At their lower ends the rollers I have a smooth bottom portion Id the diameter of which is slightly smaller than the diameter of the root of therolling-over groove 1d at its lowest deepest turn. On the lower end of the helical rollingover groove Id a wedge-shaped catcher Ie (Figs. 7 and 8) is arranged, the upper face of which leads over to the said helical groove, and the lower face of which lies in the plane of the lower end face of the roller I. Adjacent to the catcher Ie the innerdiameter of the rolling-over groove Id is equal to, the diameter of the smooth bottom portion Id on a short stretch, i; e. over not more than a quarter turn, from where it increases'in a steep transition zone If and hence gradually increases, further. The smooth bottom part Id of the rollers 1 engages into a counterbored recess 4a in the associated slide 4 of .008 0.012" depth.

The canlids or bottoms, dropping out of the stamping press, slide down the chute I3, one after the other and the foremost of them gets between the rollers I which have been adjusted so that their smooth bottom portions Id touch on three points the. edge of the can lid or bottom dropping in. The rollers I are angularly adjusted on their shafts 6 ,in'such a manner that-their catchersle get simultaneously into touch with the edge of a can lid or bottom situatedbetween them. 'Since the edges of the wedge shaped catchers To reach into the counterbored recesses 40. of the slides 4, the can lid or bottom is safely caught and lifted. When the can lid or bottom gets between the rollers I during their rotation too late i. e. when the edges of the catchers 1e have already passed their innermost positions, it slides laterally off these catchers 1e and remains where it was, whereby it prevents the next subsequent can lid or bottom from entering between the rollers I. At the next revolution of the'rollers I this can lid or bottom that was left behind previously, is then'caught and raised by the catchers To.

In Fig. 7' part of a fiat flanged can lid I8 (Fig. '4) is represented in chain-dotted lines, resting on the slide 4 in the condition in which it comes from the stamping press. This lid I8 is now caught by the catchers 7c of the uniformly revolving rollers-1 and is raised thereby. The depth of the rolling-over groove Id at the start is slightly larger than the width of the flange of the lid I8 whereby'the dished middle portion of this lid I8 is caught and guided in the rollingover groove. After a rotation of the rollers I of not more than a quarter turn the zone of transition- If comes into touch with the lid I8, and by the sudden reduction of depth of the rolling-overgroove Ia at this point the edge of the lid I8. is dented simultaneously on three points C9rre'sponding to the, three rollers 1, whereby.itis'centereds In Fig. 7 part of a second lid 18, preceding the lid I8 in operation, is shown in chain-dotted lines, the dent at its edge being indicated. After this denting, the edge is gradually rolled-over from these three dents onward, while the lid 18 is held between, and lifted and rotated by, the said rollers until it reaches the three uppermost turns lg of the helix which are of constant depth and have an equalizing effect on the rolled-over edge of the lid H3.

The finished rolled-over lids or bottoms 18" (Fig. 5) are piled up between the three guide rods I! (Fig. 6) and can be taken oil from the top of the staple thus formed.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A device for rolling-over the edges of fiatflanged dished can bottoms or lids comprising an inclined support plate, three identical rollers journalled relatively to and projecting from the said support plate parallel to one another in a triangular disposition, driving means arranged for rotating the said rollers in the same sense of rotation and at the same constant speed, each of the said rollers comprising a smooth cylindrical bottom portion, a helically grooved main portion of an outer radius larger than the radius of said cylindrical bottom portion and a wedge shaped catcher having its bottom face flush with the bottom face of the said roller and its upper face leading up to the lower flank of a helical rolling-over groove in the said main portion of the roller the said helical groove starting with a part extending over a fraction of a turn having a root radius equal to the radius of the said bottom portion of the roller, and leading through a transition zone of steeply increasing root radius to the main part of said helical groove which gradually increases in root radius up to the last turns of said helical groove which are of constant root radius, and a chute for feeding fiat-flanged dished can bottoms or lids one after the other to the bottom portions of the said rollers the said rollers being angularly so disposed about their respective axes of rotation that their catchers simultaneously engage the flange of a can bottom or lid.

2. A device for rolling-over the edges of flatfianged dished can bottoms or lids as claimed in claim 1 comprising a guide balile arranged on top of said chute at a distance corresponding to the depth of dishing of the said can bottoms or lids for preventing their jumping out of, or their shifting the ones on top of the others within, the said chute.

3. A device for rolling-over the edges of flatflanged dished can bottoms or lids as claimed in claim 1 comprising an adjustable side wall of the said chute and adjusting means for adjusting the said side wall to a width of the chute corresponding to the outer diameter of the said can bottoms or lids.

4. A device for rolling-over the edges of fiatfianged dished can bottoms or lids comprising an inclined support plate, three roller carriers adjustably fixed to the said support plate and counter-bored on their upper bottom faces, three identical rollers each journalled in one of the said roller carriers with their axes parallel to one another and perpendicular to the said support plate in a triangular disposition, driving means arranged for rotating the said rollers in the same sense of rotation and at the same constant speed, each of the said rollers comprising a smooth cylindrical bottom portion fitting into and projecting from the said counterbored faces of the roller carriers, a helically grooved main portion of an outer radius larger than the radius of said cylindrical bottom portion and a wedge shaped catch- I er having its bottom face flush with the bottom face of the said roller and its upper face leading up to the lower flank of a helical rolling-over groove in the said main portion of the roller the said helical groove starting with a part extending over a fraction of a turn having a root radius equal to the radius of the said bottom portion of the roller, and leading through a transition zone of steeply increasing root radius to the main part of said helical groove which gradually increases in root radius up to the last turns of said helical groove which are of constant root radius, and a chute for feeding fiat-flanged dished can bottoms or lids one after the other to the bottom portions of the said rollers the said rollers being angularly so disposed about their respective axes of rotation that their catchers simultaneously engage the flange of a can bottom or lid.

WERNER MOSER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,167,059 Forry Jan. 4, 1916 1,433,696 Cameron Oct. 31, 1922 1,525,528 Widell Feb. 10, 1925 1,545,177 Widell 1, g 1 July 7, 1925 

